Method oe unloading canal-boats and other vessels



To all whom t may concern UNITED PATENT onirica.

VVILLHIAM` LQUGHRIDGE, OF WEVERTON, MARYLAND.

METHOD or `Unioni)Ins CANAL-BOATS AND OTHER vnssELs.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,891, datedlVIay 9, 1854.

Be it known that I,WILLIAM LOUGHRIDGE, of leverton, in the countyofWVashington and `State of Maryland, have invented a new and usefulImprovementin the Mode of Unloading Canal-Boats and` other Vessels; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXactdescription of the construction and operation of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification,`in whichi.

Figure l is a plan of thechamber, with the boat in the position forunloading. Fig. 2 is a section upon the line a" a' of F ig.` l.

Fig. 3 is a section upon the line yy of Fig.

9., showing the manner in which` my invention is applied. valves f forclosing t-he inner portion of the openings in the bottom of the boat.

Similar letters in the several figures indi i cate the saine part.

The object ofmy invention is to facilitate `the unloading of canal boatsand other vessels, by placing` them in a dock or chamber, from which thewater may be withdrawn;

and then discharging `the cargo through apertures made for that purposeinthe bottom of the boat, on b oth sides of the keel `or Icenter: theseapertures whichmay be either round orI square being surrounded by aframe or casing of wood, iron, or other `material closely and securelyfastened to the ribs and bottom of the boat.

The apertures to be coveredby a sliding valve, which may be withdrawn atpleasure through a groove between the ribs of the boat, by a c hain orrodattached to said slide, andpassing under the fioorof the boat to theside, and under a roller up the side to the deck, where it is to beoperated by a lever, screw, or other device of sufficient power towithdraw the valve or cover, and open the aperture. The

under side of theaperture to be closed by a dock for that purpose. The`chamber or Figa is a plan of the ldock should rest upon `posts orpillars and Qbeopenbeneath, and the `bottom of said chamber must beprovided with apertures i corresponding in number and; position withthose inthe bottom of the boat, each covered with a sliding" valve to beremoved after the water is., drawn off, when the cargo is'discharged aswill` be hereafter described. In the drawing A represents `the chamber,supported by the posts B, and having the cross timbers()` on which theboat isto rest; between these timbers C are the apertures a covered withthe valves D.

p E is the gate for the admission of water l and F the one by which thewater is let off.

To illustrate the operation of my improvement the chamber `isrepresented as being i above a river and having its `openings aconnected with a chute Gr leading to a vessel H. The boat I isconstructed as usual except that in the bottom are the apertures bbetween the `timbers of the boat,` which are cased with iron orwood1 andclosed `on the exterior by i the doors `o having beveled edges andfitting itightly intothe openings; thesedoors being lined with leather,gutta percha or any other water tight material. The inner portion of theaperture is covered with the valve f each pair connected by the rods aand attached to the chain e so as to be capable ofsliding into thechamber Z when the aperture is to be opened as shown in Figs. 2 & 4.Vhen closed the valve f and door o are secured by the screw g, thusrendering the aperture impervious to water, and presenting on the insideno obstruction to the stowing of the cargo, while the exterior surfaceof the door c being Hush with the bottom of the boat prevents it frominjuring the sailing qualities of the vessel. In the middle of the boatis the beveled partition it giving the interior the form of two hoppersleading to the apertures. d

The operation of my improvement is as follows: The valves c and fhaving-been properly closed as above described, the boat is loaded withcoal, grain or any thing capable of being unloaded by my method. On thearrival of the boat at the discharging point, the chamber A is thrownopen andthe boat floated in. The gates E are then closed and the waterdischarged; the boat on the discharge of the water will rest on thecross timbers C, as seen in Fig. l; the apertures b being directly overthose in the dock. After the water has been entirely discharged from thechamber A the sliding valves D are withdrawn from the apertures a, andthe doors c covering the apertures b in the boat removed by withdrawingthe screws g. All being ready for the discharge of the cargo, thesliding valves f are drawn back by the levers attached to the chains e,and rest in the recesses CZ, permitting thecoal, grain or other cargo tobe precipitated through the apertures in the bottom of the boat and thecorresponding apertures in the bottom of the dock or chamber, intodescending or inclined planes or chutes, by which it will be conveyed tothe vessel, railway car, ware house, or other place of deposit to whichit may be desired to transship the cargo of said boat. v To suit thelocality various modifications of the above described arrangement may bemade; among which I mention constructing the chamber as described forreceiving the boat, which on -the discharge of the water settles down`upon a truck, upon which it is drawn forward to the chutes, and thecargo discharged as before. This is applicable to the ease where thepoint of deposit is necessarily a greater distance from the canal thanwould under the application of the described arrangement be convenient.Other modiiications may be made, but as they will readily suggestthemselves in practice it will be needless to mention them.

The valves in the bot-tom of the chamber A are moved by the rods mhaving on their under surfaces the racks n meshing into a cogged pinionoperated by a wheel p as shown in Fig. 3, or by any analogous devicethat will give the requisite power. y

I am aware thatvessels have been made with valves or traps yin theirbottoms, for the discharge of their loads of earth, mud, &c., as in thecase of I. R. Putnams patent of May 6th 184:1 and the withdrawn case ofSophia Putnam, of June 28th 184:7; I am also aware that vessels havebeen floated into dry docks, and the water drawn off through valves,leaving the vessel. dry and supported upon blocks or upon trucks. Itherefore do not claim originality in contriving either of thesedevices; or in that of the chute. But What I do claim as new, is themethod or process of unloading vessels described above,

by means of th'e combined arrangement of the vessel with valves in thebottom, the dry dock with valves immediately below those in the vessel,and the chutes to carry ofi:1 the load into boats or other receptaclesplaced below, but not immediately under the elevated dry dock all asaboveV described; thereby expediting the discharge of cargoes, andeconomizing labor, time, and money.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name before twosubscribing witnesses.

WM. LOUGHRIDGE.

Witnesses:

J. DIXON ROMAN, WM P. ELLIOT.

